Error message

Deprecated function: The each() function is deprecated. This message will be suppressed on further calls in book_next() (line 811 of /mnt/target03/362662/www.americansuperstarmag.com/web/content/modules/book/book.module).

Model Natalie Reid Fights For Her Own Identity

By Jeff Ferrantino on July 31, 2006

Natalie Reid's ascension into fame hasn't been pretty at times, but she isn't one to complain about her distinction as the world's top Paris Hilton look-alike.

Reid busted onto the scene in February when she took New York Fashion Week by storm, fooling paparazzi and scoring a front row seat at the Nicole Miller fashion show next to David Lee Roth among others. Her appearance was arranged by entertainment Web site TMZ.

"That's really when everything started to happen," admits the 21-year-old model/actress.

"Everything" just might be an understatement. Since then, Reid has found herself all over the media, appearing on shows from CNN to her most recent gig, a six-page spread in the September issue of Playboy.

"I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I would be doing look-alike work," Reid says. "I never ever tried to completely change my life to look like her, act like her, or sound like her. It's just something that fell into my lap."

Reid grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, specifically in the working-class town of Transcona. She confesses that she wasn't exactly living a socialite's life as a child growing up.

"I come from humble beginnings," Reid says. "I worked a lot of minimum wage jobs and I worked really hard."

Reid remembers daydreaming in high school about a life as a model, and admits that she always knew there was something bigger and better out there for her.

"I always had big dreams," says Reid, who counts Kate Moss and Courtney Love among her idols. "I'm an entertainer, so I believe that I was born to be in front of the camera, whether it's modeling or acting."

When she turned 17, Reid moved to Calgary and started working odd jobs while dabbling in starting her own jewelry business, something Reid is "still passionate about" to this day. Then one day during a photo shoot in Toronto, a photographer told her that she needed to move to New York if she wanted to seriously pursue a career in modeling.